While everyone was excited to start Shonda Rhimes’ Bridgerton on Netflix, I was still grieving over the fact that I had finished Tiny Pretty Things. Dying to talk about the show, I texted all my friends asking if they’d seen it. Surprisingly, none of them had. I was shocked and disappointed. This show was phenomenal in so many ways, and I was so sad to see it somehow be swept under the rug by other big shows being released around the same time.
Tiny Pretty Things centers around the elite Archer School of Ballet in Chicago, Illinois that feeds teenagers into the top ballet companies around the world. When one of the best ballerinas mysteriously falls off the roof of the school, a new spot opens and is given to new girl Neveah, who has no idea why she was suddenly let into the school. Throughout the show, we meet a multitude of complex and diverse characters such as “average” ballerina June Park, Bette –– whose sister has just become a professional ballerina –– and her boyfriend Oren, among many others. The dancers compete for the lead role in famous choreographer Ramon Costa’s ballet “Ripper” while simultaneously trying to figure out how Cassie really fell from the ceiling.
Essentially, this show is a ballet murder mystery. What’s there to not love about that? Combining the elegance of ballet and goriness of murder shows how dark both of these things really are. I found myself sitting on the edge of my seat the whole time. As someone who has been dancing their whole life, I can confidently say that the choreography and the dancer’s movements throughout the entire show were pure art. All the actors and actresses on this show are beautiful, and I think each character was given a very intricate and well-formed plotline. I loved how there was no “main character” on this show.
In addition, the show deals with a variety of current issues in the dance world. It was so important to me that there were so many people of color cast in this show as ballet dancers, as ballet has always been predominantly white. It also exposes the misogynistic choreography and plotlines throughout the history of ballet, as well as the grooming that is experienced by so many young dancers. My personal favorite plotline was between June Park and her mom, who threatens to pull her out of the Archer School of Ballet if she does not win the lead role and continually states that ballet cannot be a lasting profession. The mindset of June’s mom is one that many people still have today, and I love that the show is trying to demonstrate that this is not the case.
I fully believe that everyone should give Tiny Pretty Things a shot! You don’t have to be a dancer, mystery show fanatic, or even a certain age to enjoy this show. I cannot believe that more people aren’t talking about it. If you do decide to watch it, I hope that you enjoy the show just as much as I did.